COLUMBUS — On Friday, Gov. Ted Strickland signed into law new revisions of Ohio’s boater safety laws.
Among the new provisions in the bill, boaters are now required to abide by a 100 foot “no wake zone” when passing any public service vessel actively engaged in public service. This includes any law enforcement boat, fireboat, dredges or towing services, and Department of Wildlife vessels, as long as the government boat is operating at least one flashing or rotating light.
Anyone in violation of the no wake zone permission will be charged with a fourth-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine. If a person is convicted of damaging a public service vessel with its light engaged, the penalties increase up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Also enacted was a provision declaring “failure to control” as enforceable boat operator rule, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The law “prohibits a person from operating or permitting to be operated a vessel on Ohio waters without maintaining sufficient control to avoid an incident that results in property damage, physical injury, loss of life, or any combination of them, and establishes that violation is a minor misdemeanor.” A minor misdemeanor is punishable by a $150 fine and no possibility of jail time.
The law also now permits children under 10 years of age, who board a watercraft under 18 feet in length, to wear a swimsuit-style life jacket, according to ODNR. According to the Division of Watercraft, the children’s Type V personal flotation device was approved by the U.S. Coast Guard several years ago and is designed to be more comfortable and better suited to the activities of children participating in family boating.
This new law will apply to all boaters, on Apply Valley Lake, Kokosing Reservoir, Knox Lake, and throughout the state.
According to emergency provisions in the bill, the new law became effective and enforceable Friday afternoon.
